KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE You can read all of our articles on our website. Having trouble getting our emails? Change your spam controls and whitelist ken@kirschenbaumesq.com ****************************** comment on does tenant need to sign contract if owner has signed one September 22, 2025 *********************** comment on does tenant need to sign contract if owner has signed one from article on August 18, 2025 *********************** Ken, I see what you are saying in the August 18, 2025 article, but what if you have an agreement with the owner, and there is a tenant in the space. All your dealings are with the owner other then scheduling inspections. Are you saying we need 2 agreements- one with owner and one with tenant? Wouldn’t that created a conflict? Respectfully, Roman ************************* Response ************************* As I stated in the prior article, the answer can be complicated and the issue convoluted depending on a bunch of factors. You raise the problem by saying "all ...dealings are with the owner" but then you change that simple, and definitive statement, by adding "other than scheduling inspection". Here is a good example. I am sitting in my office building where K&K is a tenant. There are smoke detectors throughout the space; they get inspected and sometimes serviced. But I don't call for the inspection or repairs; that's the landlord's issue and it's the landlord who is under contract with the fire alarm company, not K&K, and K&K would not prevail in any lawsuit against the fire alarm company if there was a fire and a smoke detector wasn't working. Even I shouldn't be able to win that one. If I was able to call for repairs and inspection then the scenario changes. I'd have a reasonable expectation that the fire alarm company would act reasonably; would not be negligent. I would not be under contract, unless of course I was. Since not under contract the fire alarm company would not have "contracted away liability for its own negligence" which it would have done had it made me sign a contract before agreeing to take my call and perform repair or inspection, whether I paid them or not, by the way. If you receive calls from tenants then you probably need the tenant to sign a contract. If you expect payment from a landlord or a tenant you need to have a signed contract. Multiple contracts are not necessary if payment is coming from one party, like the landlord, but the tenant should sign the contract if tenant expects to have any authority over the system, even though the contract would state that payments are made by the landlord. Each scenario needs to be evaluated and considered. Every contract needs at least one subscriber, and sometimes more than one. You could use two contracts for the same service, one indicating that payment is being made by the other party but the non-paying party is agreeing to all the contract provisions, sometimes including a guarantee of payment too. ************************* STANDARD FORM AGREEMENTS: To order up to date Standard Form Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements click here: www.alarmcontracts.com *************************** CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE PROGRAM FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY - You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304. *********************** WEBINARS: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-webinars *********************** ALARM ARTICLES: You can always read our Articles on our website at www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles updated daily ******************** Wondering how much your alarm company is worth? Click here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth *********************** THE ALARM EXCHANGE - the alarm industries leading classified and business exchange - updated daily ************************* PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ken-kirschenbaum-presents/id1794851477 ************************* Getting on our email list / Articles archived: Many of you are forwarding these emails to friends or asking that others be added to the list. Sign up for our daily newsletter here: Sign Up. ************************** Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC Attorneys at Law 200 Garden City Plaza Garden City, NY 11530 516 747 6700 x 301 ken@kirschenbaumesq.com www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
